Black Films Highlight Arts Festival

Local and international black filmmakers, musicians and performers entertained students and community members and encouraged aspiring artists at the Fourth Annual Harvard Black Arts Festival, with events held over three days this past weekend.

This year's festival featured the Harvard Black Film Festival, a new offering, with 10 long and short films screened at the Harvard Film Archive.

Selections included the Boston premier of the South African film Boesman and Lena, starring Danny Glover and Angela Bassett, and The Brothers, featuring Harvard's Tatyana M. Ali '02.

But unlike most movie-goers, festival attendees had the chance to personally interact with those responsible for bringing the films to life. Many of the works' actors, directors and producers spoke with students in formal panels and informal discussions after the viewings.

"It wasn't just an opportunity to see their pieces, it was chance to shake hands, talk with them and learn from them," said Toussaint G. Losier '04.

The directors said they were pleased to share their perspective.

"It's an inspiration to see the students enjoying the works that we've done," said Patrik-Ian Polk, director of Punks, one of the films showcased.

Director Booker T. Mattison, whose film, The Gilded Six Bits , was screened on Saturday afternoon, encouraged student artists to pursue their visions.

"No one else is going to invest in you, you have to invest in yourself," Mattison said.

The film festival was one just component of a weekend series of events that consistently drew capacity crowds of all ages and races.

Publicity Co-Chairs Joy L. Fuller '04 and Maya R. Payne '02 said they were excited by the exceptional turnout for all the events.

"The most impressing aspect of the weekend was that it drew such diverse crowds," Payne said.

Amanda L. Hillman '02, co-chair of the festival, said attracting a multicultural audience was one of the organizers' central goals.

"The aim of this year's festival was not just to draw a black audience, but to encourage a dialogue and sharing amongst all," she said.

Activities kicked off Friday afternoon with a panel held in the ARCO Forum on the responsibilities of black artists as role models. Featured guests included "Kool" DJ Red Alert, stage and screen actor Obba Babatunde, newly appointed Quincy Jones Professor of Music Ingrid Monson and Stacey Spikes, CEO of Urbanworld Films, the first all-black production company.

Saturday's roster began with a jazz and hip-hop movement workshop led by dancer, choreographer and playwright Arthur Taylor, founder of an international traveling dance company of adolescents.

Later that night, Taylor performed with a slightly older crowd as he joined Harvard performers on the stage of Lowell Lecture Hall for the weekend's crowning event, "Celebration of the Spirit," a mix of performances by Kuumba and the Caribbean Dance Troupe, and a senior project by Amma Y. "Yo' Mama" Ghartey-Tagoe '01.

"I particularly liked the 'Celebration of the Spirit' showcase because it was a great mix of entertainment and history," said audience member Nadia S. Johnson '03. "It did a great job of educating the audience about the history of different black art forms."

The festival also included three sold-out performances in the Adams Pool Theater of Streetpeople, a satiric comedy about life on the streets, written and directed by black playwright and actor Ben Ateku, founder of a Weymouth-based theater company.

The festival has grown considerably over the past four years. Kuumba founded the event, but the festival has become an independent project, coordinating the majority of events on its own.

This year, the planning board jumped from six to 11 members, and publicity efforts doubled, with posters displayed throughout the Boston area.

Audience members said they were impressed by the final product.

"It was definitely more than I expected," Losier said.